bad enough to pay $1,800?

There are a lot of people (mostly in my family) who make fun of the fact that I have Monster cables running throughout most of my electronics. Everyone says they are overpriced and don’t do anything better than the generic cables you can find. For those that are reading, use eBay for finding those cables. You can now get them cheaper off of eBay than you can to buy new generic cables at a retailer.

But either way, someone really has to be burning cash to buy a $1,800 power cable for their computer. Who cares (or even understands) the description the company provides about their cable:

Powerflux conductors are 68-strand α (Alpha) OCC twisted around μ–conductor strands with a special-grade PE insulation or dielectric. (Alpha conductors are fine OCC wire treated with Furutech’s Alpha Cryogenic and Demagnetizing process.) The dielectric is surrounded by an inner sheath of RoHS-compliant PVC incorporating carbon powder that enhances damping, and that in turn is covered by a full α (Alpha) conductor wire braid shield. Another flexible PVC outer sheath and a Nylon braid jacket finish the job.

It’s a power cord. It doesn’t make a difference, really!

Retrieved from -Dvice-

because there is no way I would have survived this.

Check out this article in Discover magazine and see if you can be as manly as this guy…

The Inuit didn’t fear the cold; they took advantage of it. During the 1950s the Canadian government forced the Inuit into settlements. A family from Arctic Bay told me this fantastic story of their grandfather who refused to go. The family, fearful for his life, took away all of his tools and all of his implements, thinking that would force him into the settlement. But instead, he just slipped out of an igloo on a cold Arctic night, pulled down his caribou and sealskin trousers, and defecated into his hand. As the feces began to freeze, he shaped it into the form of an implement. And when the blade started to take shape, he put a spray of saliva along the leading edge to sharpen it. That’s when what they call the “s*** knife” took form. He used it to butcher a dog. Skinned the dog with it. Improvised a sled with the dog’s rib cage, and then, using the skin, he harnessed up an adjacent living dog. He put the s*** knife in his belt and disappeared into the night.

Wow. That is all I can say. MacGyver meets Eskimo. There you have it.

Retrieved from -Boing Boing-

with decomposing mercury thiocyanide.

To be honest, I’ve never heard of that chemical compound. It doesn’t sound very safe kids considering I can only assume it has mercury and cyanide in it, but that does’t affect the parent’s in letting the kids start it. Either way, watch the video and see how tentacles from a B-rated horror movie were first thought up.

Retrieved from -Dark Roasted Blend-

but this catch at a college game truly makes me appreciate the athleticism that it takes.

How can one catch a throw like that and not have a broken spine? I’m torn between the words “Ouch!” and “That’s amazing!”

Retrieved from -ExtraLife-

because it’s definitely a good approximation of what society could be like if it was instituted.

How many times have you been on Facebook, YouTube or even general forums and found people venting or writing inflammatory remarks? Probably about 85% of the sites you visit have at least one of those people on there. I’m sure every now and then I’ve been responsible for some of those comments. The most common I have posted is the image below. This is for when you get tons of people acting like pompous airbags all spouting there beliefs as if it is the only way things can be.

So, my social commentary for today, think before you write, and think twice before you submit/send.

Retrieved from -xkcd-

Let’s ask Jose Cruz of West Virginia, he certainly found out the hard way!

You know, I’m trying to figure out who is really the most wrong with this scenario, the cop or the man. When Jose was pulled over for driving without his headlights on, he then failed a field sobriety test. When the police took him in to be booked, the man shifted over and passed gas on the police officer. Afterwards, the man was charged with battery for that act.

Now, come on, it’s gross and all, but battery? Some people have the impression that police officers are control freaks and overbearing…stories like this don’t help that image.

Retrieved from -Boing Boing-

…especially when it looks like you have been in a bad accident with it?

OK, once again…really? Are you serious? First off, I don’t particularly care for people who wear those bluetooth headsets all around so that you can’t tell when they are talking to you or to the person on the phone. So, here’s a new gadget that will confuse me as to if someone has broken their neck of if they are talking on the phone. Just as bad in my eyes!

So, designer Francesca Lanzavecchia has developed the neck brace for mobile phones. This is a foam neck brace that offers a cradle on the side to hold your cell phone to your ear. And if that isn’t good enough for you, they also have one with a semi-transparent rubber membrane to store your phone or other items you may need at a moment’s notice.

Who’s in for one?

Product Info -Francesca Lanzavecchia-
Retrieved from -OhGizmo!-

…so I can have some of the coolest job titles.

For those who don’t know, HTC makes cell phones that are slightly out of the ordinary. At one point, I owned a Cingular version of one of their smartphones. Granted, I did’t necessarily like the phone, but that was strictly only because it had absolutely no reception. They have really made a turnaround in the the last year or so and actually have a few iPhone contenders in the making. Their latest claim to fame will be the Android, a smartphone that is powered by Google. But let me get to the point…

I’ve had several job titles in my career: designer, design engineer, project design engineer and now senior engineer. With someone as geeky as I am, that just doesn’t really fit me. The HTC company has some really awesome titles though: Mechanical Wizard, Chief Innovation Wizard, Software Magician, etc.

Maybe I should be a Structural Paladin or something. Anything is more exciting than a Senior Engineer. No creativity.

Retrieved from -Gizmodo-

…from the company refrigerator? If so, here’s the product for you!

The designer, Sherwood Forlee, must have had too many steal some of his sandwiches from the fridge at work. Because, from the mind of Sherwood, comes the “Anti-Theft Lunch Bag”. He has taken regular sandwich bags and painted green paint on both sides of the inside. Therefore, it looks as if the sandwich has molded, hopefully deterring the would-be lunch thief. I’m not sure how hungry people are in his office, but I know at mine, the only thing I have had to worry about people stealing is my canned drinks. Maybe I should write Sherwood and ask him to try and come up with something to prevent that instead.

Retrieved from -OhGizmo!-